Around the Web: Financial Changes

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Money-saving tips, debt co-signers, small financial changes, bankruptcy and the cost of raising a child.

Money Propeller — Saving extra money usually does alter your lifestyle. Richard admits that, but then argues “you can spend less each month” and still have an enjoyable life. For example, his first tip is: “Audit Your Spending.” Go over everything you spend money on, especially your habitual spending, like morning coffee or Friday night takeout. Then decide which habit you can cut without it impacting your lifestyle. You might realize that Chinese takeout is not that important.

His last tip is: “Stop Throwing Food Away.” We’ve discussed this point before. It’s been documented that Americans throw out nearly a third of our food. It’s a terrible waste. Richard provides tips on reducing this waste — which should in itself enhance your lifestyle.

Money Talks News — Karla found a survey that signals bad news for those who co-signed for loans or credit cards. It reveals that “38 percent of co-signers had to pay all or some of the debt because the primary borrower failed to pay it.” The bad news doesn’t end there, the co-signers also suffer through additional repercussions.

I won’t explain them here, I’ll let you read about those consequences later. For now, think very carefully before you co-sign for loans, credit cards or even student loans. It doesn’t matter if you’re signing for a son, daughter or a friend. Once they default or can’t pay back the loan, their debt becomes your debt.

Everybody Loves Your Money — This blogger says “overhauling your personal finances” is a daunting task. But then again, a complete overhaul may not be necessary. Just use these small changes. The first one is: “Tracking Your Spending.” You can easily do that with PowerWallet — a free money management tool.

The sixth change is: “Making Your Own Food.” Once you start cooking up some delicious dishes, use the leftovers for lunch or maybe even a creative breakfast. You’ll save more money and spend less time cooking. It makes perfect sense. Just don’t waste the food — we’ve already discussed that in the first post.

Money mini blog — Kalen points out that “there are around 1,000,000 bankruptcies every year in the US.” But not all bankruptcies are the same. There are actually four types and Kalen goes over each one. He also tells you “When to file bankruptcy (And when not to).”

Some other interesting points he covers in this blog include preparing for bankruptcy and its “negative effects.” For example, one negative effect is your bankruptcy stays on your credit report for seven to 10 years. Debt.com also covers this issue in posts such as bankruptcy pros and cons, co-signers and tax debt.

The Simple Dollar — Trent writes, “As much as a I dearly love my children, there’s no way to deny the fact that children are very expensive.” With that in mind, he and his wife share their 15 most powerful money saving tips. The second one is interesting: Shop for secondhand items in affluent areas. He says they have better quality clothes.

The seventh tactic is: Use the library for entertainment stuff. This includes books, movies and children services. Why bother buying dozens of DVD’s, etc., when all you end up doing is giving them away, losing them or throwing them away? Or you can decide not to have kids. If that’s the case, check out this post on responding to people who ask dumb questions when they find out you don’t want children.

Meet the Author

Brian Bienkowski

Staff Writer

Bienkowski is a staff writer and is the face of Debt.com's 'By the Numbers' videos.